Mount Rushmore!

Here it is mom- the post you've been waiting for! :) After our 9 hour drive from Minnesota to South Dakota, we decided to travel a half hour out of our way and stop at Mount Rushmore. We even got to see BUFFALO! We went on the little trail around the mountain view and had a great time. So, without further adieu.... 

Us with the buffalo in the background. No fences, just nature.

They really were a lot closer than they look in the picture.

The road to Mount Rushmore.

Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln.

The gates leading to the mountain.

Us with the presidents!

I think Washington had the best spot. You could get a good picture of him from almost any vantage point. The original plan had the torsos of the presidents included as well, however the way the mountain was shaped, it didn't fit in with the plans. (although you can kind of see Washington's lapel)

The was a little side camp called "Heritage Village" on the trail. It was really just 2 tepees and a park guide who could talk intelligently about Native American life.

Like I said, Washington had a great spot to live forever.

There was also a little cave you could walk through and then a split in the rock that gave a perfect view.

Oh yes, there's also a room behind the faces. (You can't go back there) It was designed to keep safe some of America's most valuable treasures and papers. Unfortunately, it is not used for that today. 

As we were passing a family on the trail, one kid said to his brother, "I don't even KNOW  who Teddy Roosevelt is!" His brother replied "Are you KIDDING me??? He's the guy who INVENTED national parks!" :)

(Yes, it was sunny that day)

Having some treats to cool us off (raspberry cheesecake ice cream and a watermelon slushie)

The Black Hills of South Dakota

Along our trip out west (mostly just to Minnesota) we decided to take a couple days and go spend some time at a friend's ranch in South Dakota. For me, it was the farthest west I've been and I was able have some new experiences there: riding a horse, 4-wheeling, swimming in the watering hole (well, I didn't swim, but I did go in) and going out in the Ranger (3-seater  4-wheeler) up into the hills.

These were the cowboy's horses. They all came trotting out to greet us as we walked towards them! 

I think my man looks good in a cowboy hat, don't you?

Karl bonding with the horses. They were quite gassy (have you ever heard a horse pass gas? oof da!).

This is the cattle corral that Karl and Adam built one summer during college. They also have a lot of cattle on this ranch but they mostly roam free in the hills. This corral is used for organizing and separating the cattle when they are being branded, inoculated, or being prepared for market. 

If you look closely, you can see their initials "AN" and "KR" carved into one of the railroad ties they used for the posts.

These are called cattle grates. Basically if you have these, you don't need a gate to keep the cattle out. You can drive and walk across them, but cattle won't because their feet will slip in between the wide gaps. Pretty ingenious, huh?

Walking off to the stables and additional corrals.

Outside the cabin, the had this wonderful outdoor fireplace. Beautiful, I think.

Antlers from hunts.

The cabin! (the fireplace is on an extended patio to the right)

Adam loosening the reins and showing me how much slack I should have.

The guys on the horses.

We went out for a ride: me on the 4-wheeler, and they guys on horses.

Out for a ride with a couple cattle.

At the watering hole! The splash is Karl.

Out in the Ranger! It was a true South Dakota safari.

Some of the damage from the fire a couple years ago.

The only right way to end the day- a steak and potatoes meal.

Some of the ranch buildings at sunset.

The setting sun (picture taken by Karl)

The sunset was pretty spectacular- neither one of these photos capture how dramatic it really was.

Next post: Mount Rushmore!

Homemade Ginger Soda, Exploding Peeps, and The Longest Scrabble Word. ever.

If you read my last post, you know we spent some time in WI with Karl's sister going to the Rendezvous, etc... We also got to have a fun time with food! Deciding to have a porch picnic, we had a delicious, healthy lunch. We had.................

 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Turnips, and Beets with herbs

Fresh mixed greens from the Sarah and Nick's garden (mostly arugula YUM!)

A modern coleslaw with julienned carrots, oNiOns, broccoli stems with a apple cider vinegar and herb dressing.

Roasted cauliflower 

aaaand...Homemade GINGER SODA with orange wedges (the how-to below)

Our little picnic on the landing. We also had the local hamburger specialty which was boiled, yes BOILED hamburgers on a flat top grill. Mine was with horseradish. (Shake Shack and Culver's are better)

Soooo, for the ginger soda, you pulverize 1/2ish pound of fresh ginger and then heat it in a pot over the stove with some sugar (?) until it pretty bubbly and melty. Then you press it through a sieve and use the juice. Placing a 1/4 cup of the concentrated juice in each glass, add ice and club soda. Garnish with fresh miNT LeaVEs and enjoy!!!

We didn't have fresh mint readily available (it was in the garden about a mile away) so we used fresh orange wedges instead! 

Later that night before a game of Scrabble, we made S'mores with peeps in the microwave. (you have to watch them very closely or else they WILL explode!)

After a couple interesting rounds of quick Scrabble, we started getting ridiculous and started spelling the longest word "Antidisestablishmentarianism" and then started adding all the suffixes and ended up with "Antidisestablishmentarianismeshinglyesque."

What is YOUR favorite game?

Rendezvous in Praire Du Chien, WI

What's a Rendezvous you may ask? Well I certainly did ask! We drove up to Wisconsin to visit Karl's sister Sarah and stay at her place for a couple days and the Rendezvous was in town! So...to explain: it's basically a tradition that started a couple hundred years ago when the French would go to the mouth of the Mississippi and meet with the Indians to trade. Mostly fur and items of that sort. Then they would head down the river and stop at different points and rendezvous with the Indians and continue to trade all summer long. The tradition is continued to this day, with people living in old fashioned tents and teepees for the summer and traveling to different towns. Although there are some people with furs and trade items, it's mostly fOOd, fuN, and trInKetS. The thing I like most is probably the feeling you get walking through the village. It's like stepping back in time with people wearing period clothing and some men in moccasins and loin cloths, children running around in trousers and barefoot, and the visible lack of technology. (minus the port-a-potties, but that doesn't really count) I had some of the best fried catfish I've ever had in my life and even got a henna tattoo! Ok, enough of the talk and more of the pictures!

Real root beer! (I didn't get to try some though :/   )

This is the typical kind of tent that we saw everywhere. People lived in  these all summer long.

One of the food vendors. There were all sorts of little tent cafes you could go in to and get all sorts of food.

My fried catfish and chips. I didn't eat all the chips because it would have been grease overload, but the catfish was delicious! It didn't taste fishy and wasn't dried out on the inside.

Sarah's Indian Taco. Basically a regular taco, but on FRY BREAD!

My HENNA TAT!! Pretty cool...this is it in the wet stage. The lady drew it on and then said it had to dry. When it got all cracked, you wash the paste off and are left with a more brown tattoo. (see below picture)

Yes, I am proud of my tattoo! So fun. 

The final version. It was supposed to last 2-3 weeks, but alas, mine did not. 

A little old fashioned eating station.

More tents. I would not want to live like this for 3 months. I like my daily showers too much.

They even had teepees-I would like to see them set this thing up....

And that's all for now, but stay tuned for my next post featuring homemade GINGER ALE!!!! and the LONGEST SCRABBLE Word ever.